It’s probably the result of a relative lack
of contemporary competition that has lent this 1954 recording
such longevity. By my reckoning this Decca LP set has surfaced
three times during the CD era – firstly on Opera d’Oro, then
on Urania and now on Andromeda. It’s the Newport Classics set
that has had the modern era to itself – an imperfect set to
be sure but one that contains the good trio of Minter, Aler
and Baird. And this 1954 Anthony Lewis recording can hardly
be expected to compete with that in respect of changing views
of tempi, ornamentation, and recitative tension – to name but
three. However it does offer some compelling things for admirers
of historical performances of Handelian opera.

Prominent amongst these pleasures is the
conducting of the pioneering Anthony Lewis, whose credentials
in this and allied repertoire need no real advancing. Fortunately
he has Thurston Dart as harpsichordist and Dart’s imaginative
realisation of the part – zestful when necessary but never becoming
over-elaborate – is a pleasure in itself. The orchestra sounds
like a big sort of band, with a leader whose playing can be
inclined to the shrill in his accompanying roles, but the playing
generally and throughout is properly supportive even when the
tempi are slow.

Then of course there are the singers. Deller
is the main focus of interest and the particular lineage of
counter-tenors that followed him - Esswood, Bowman, Chance and
Scholl – can be distinguished from the virtuosic soprano athleticism
of such as David Daniels in Handelian repertoire. William Herbert
gives a ramrod, not unattractive performance as Haliate – he’s
especially convincing in Act I’s La turba adulatrice where
Thurston Dart’s imaginative continuo work galvanizes things
nicely. Nancy Evans takes on Erenice and her vinegary tone is
an acquired taste. Some will deprecate it though others may
reflect on the timbral contrast it affords her exchanges with
Margaret Ritchie’s Elmira. Ideally you should sample Evans’s
Se m’ascolti in Act II to see how well you respond to
her vocalism.

Ritchie herself is excellent. Where Evans
has to slow down for some of her divisions Ritchie surmounts
them well. Even at slow tempi her legato is uncompromised; in
the middle of her voice she is dead true; higher up there can
be problems. In Act I’s Dite pace e fulminate we find
that she has to spit out the topmost notes thus losing definition
and support. But when she joins Deller in their great duet Per
le porte (Act II) she shows that, despite the sedate tempo,
her legato remains uncompromised and she and Deller shape their
lines with considerable acumen.

High tenor John Kentish was given a really
tough sing as Argone, a role written for an alto castrato. From
his opening Di mio padre al fuor, which launches the
first Act, we can hear the strain. The young Helen Watts makes
an impressive showing in the small role of Melo and her long
Act II aria So ch’il Ciel is a harbinger of the great
things to come. Ian Wallace makes a notable, nobly rounded Altomaro
– he doesn’t have quite the downward extension ideally necessary
but he lacks for little in characterisation. He’s at his best
in Act I’s Fra l’ombre e gli and Act II’s Sento il
cor where there’s just a slight reminiscence of the older,
lighter-voiced Australian baritone Harold Williams.

As for Deller his is a subtle piece of coloration.
His legato, colour and line shaping in Sì, sì minaccia
is typical of his invention and the way he projects Alle
sfere della Gloria is similarly inspired. The vigorous animation
he injects into Act III’s M’opporro da generoso is laced
with a big rallentando of outsize generosity.

The original 1954 Decca recording had a number
of problems and since none of the reissues have had access to
the masters there’s little that can be done in this instance
to attempt to mitigate them. There are a few very rough edits
– a really bad one is in Act II’s Vado, vado al campo
(CD 2 track 5).

So all in all this is one for the specialist
– in Deller, and in historic operatic performances generally.

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